The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), Brazil's antitrust authority, has approved without any restrictions the sale of the Australian brand Aesop by Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura to the French multinational L'Oréal.

The decision made by Alexandre Barreto de Souza, the superintendent of CADE, was published on Wednesday, May 17, in the Official Gazette and will come into effect in 15 days unless challenged by any member of the antitrust authority or by any competitor within that period. 

In April of last year, Natura announced an agreement to sell the entire share capital of Aesop, the Australian skincare and haircare brand, to L'Oréal's subsidiary in Australia for a sum of $2.525 billion (approximately €2.323 billion). 

Ads

The superintendent of Cade deemed that the transfer of Aesop to the French multinational would not have any impact on free competition in Brazil, as Aesop exclusively sells its products directly to consumers in the country through online stores. 

The regulatory body also took into account that Aesop is not a significant brand in the Brazilian beauty market.

For the past ten years, the entire ownership of Aesop had been held by Natura Brazil Pty, one of the companies within the Brazilian group Natura Cosméticos. 

In the announcement of the sale agreement, L'Oréal stated its intention to expand the growth potential of the Australian brand, Aesop.

Natura emphasized that the transaction would enable the company to reduce its debt and concentrate on expanding its own brand in its priority market, which is Latin America. Additionally, Natura plans to focus on its strategy of geographical expansion through its controlled subsidiaries, Avon International and The Body Shop.